Sadia Covert, DuPage County Board 2022 Primary Election Questionnaire

Full Name: Sadia Covert

What office are you seeking? Re-election to DuPage County Board

What offices, if any, have you previously held? DuPage County Board Member in District 5

City: Naperville

Occupation: Attorney

Education: Juris Doctorate from Western Michigan University, Thomas M Cooley School of Law

Bachelors of Arts from Benedictine University

Campaign Website: pending

What steps should DuPage County health and sheriff’s departments take to prevent opioid addiction and overdose?

I think our County Health and Sheriff’s Department has already done a fantastic job with the HOPE taskforce and our Drug Court. Everyone has worked together in addressing and preventing opioid addiction and overdose. Recently, our Drug court has been approved for a significant grant in combatting this issue.

Do you support the merger of additional county offices/departments?

I support smart and cost efficient consolidation which I have expressed many times on the County Board floor. The County Board is limited in its financial capacity in the sense it does not have home rule (taxing body) so we have to work with the limited budget we have. Our residents are already tax fatigued in our state; DuPage County board does not try to add to that burden.

What are your overall thoughts of the sheriff’s department’s job performance?

As a state-certified police instructor and a sitting member on the Judicial Police Safety Committee for the last 3.5 years, I have supported every need and request of our Sheriff’s department. I have been a strong supporter of our law enforcement and have been vocal on the floor and on social media of my support. Our Sheriff’s department responds to the needs of the inmates, our courts, and our State’s Attorney’s office. The department is well trained, compliant with state regulations, and has developed rehabilitative programs for inmates. Our Sheriff’s department responds quickly and efficiently to emergency situations like the shooting at Oakbrook mall and to the rising crime rate. Our Sheriff’s department has been doing an excellent job despite their restrictions.

The county sheriff has taken several initiatives to help reform inmates (tattoo removal services, gardening classes, job placement). What other initiatives would you like to see in an effort to reform inmates?

I think more faith-based and religious services should be offered to inmates to help them alleviate stress and anxiety, provide structure and direction, improve their lives . I think religious services would help in a positive manner. The JUST program is an excellent program that helps with the coordination of religious services and the needs of the inmates, which is volunteer based. We still need more volunteers from the community to get involved.

DuPage County recently provided the DuPageFoundation$10.6million for a grant program designed to support nonprofit organizations that address food and housing insecurity, mental health and substance use issues. Discuss the county’s role to further tackle these issues.

I was proud to vote for and support the $10.6 million to DuPage Foundation. With inflation and the rising cost of food, our county board recognizes the need of the community and that is why we allotted this amount for a grant program to support non profits.

What changes, if any, need to be made related to the pandemic?

I think the concerns of our community including parents, children, and health experts should be heard and acknowledged.

What actions can the DuPage County Board take to minimize the tax burden on residents while not sacrificing services?

We can minimize tax burdens on residents while not sacrificing services by asking state and federal governments for grants for certain programs. We can also request the state to bear the cost of any mandates they pass down.

How would you encourage economic and employment growth within DuPage County?

I am already working on providing economic opportunities to Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, Small Business Enterprises, Women’s Business Enterprises, and Veteran’s Business Enterprises at the county. This allows us to tap into newer markets in our county and is mutually beneficial to the county and businesses. We have already hired a consultant to conduct a disparity study for a more evidence- based approach to establishing this program.

I have voted and supported for relief for small businesses and restaurants in our county. We had relief programs through Choose DuPage which helped in rehabilitating our small businesses. Our business and law enforcement are the backbone of our community.

Do you think there is a local crime problem? If so, what needs to be done about it?

Absolutely yes, we do have a local crime problem. Educating and providing information about the rising crime to the public through media outlets is the first step so we can build awareness. We also need all of our government bodies to fund and support police and have local elected officials be vocal about their support with out any fear. If we want better police, we need more funding so they can do their job better. Making policies that make it harder for police to do their jobs is only going to embolden criminals and people who commit crimes.

I think for all county board members, a tour of the State’s Attorney’s office would be very helpful in providing insight as to the number of criminal cases we have.

Do you support decreasing local property taxes? If so, how would the county make up the difference?

County Board votes on property tax levies not property taxes. Our state needs to work on a policy to reduce property taxes as we are one of the states with highest property taxes. As an attorney who worked in foreclosure defense, we noticed that even though our clients would get some relief from the banks through a home loan modification, they still were not able to afford their homes because of the taxes.

We had a great year in sales tax revenue.

Do you support stronger county government ethics laws? What measures do you support?

We have an ethics committee that oversees ethics and reporting requirements from all county board members. We fill out a form called the Economics Statement. If we have any conflicts of interest when we vote, then we have to recuse ourselves and walk out of the room. Our process is transparent.

Some have argued more can be done but I think those issues should be decided and handled at the federal level first and then passed down to the local governments. As county board, we cannot make ordinances or policies that fall outside the scope of our Constitution and precedent.

What are your thoughts on the Illinois Freedom of Information Act?

FOIA requests give access to the public of what they have the right to know about. I think of this as an additional layer of transparency and support it.

Please state your plan to maintain government transparency.

We need to continue to vet for and support good people on the ethics commission, continue to require candidates and elected officials to fill out their economic statement of interest, and keep FOIA, and to have members recuse themselves on the board floor if they have a conflict of interest that is illegal or unethical.

What would you push for as a member of county government to boost local businesses?

Please see answer in question 20.

Would you push for or against government officials and employees being allowed to sign non-disclosure agreements with private businesses?

This is a vague question; please expound